Applied Risk Analysis in Epidemiology
London, 14th - 18th May 2012
Duration: 5 days
Course overview
The course will be delivered jointly by EpiX Analytics (www.epixanalytics.com) and the Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health Group of the Royal Veterinary College.
After successfully delivering a full course last year, the two institutions will again join their expertise to offer a unique course that combines the leading research expertise of faculty and researchers from the RVC with the hands-on knowledge in quantitative risk analysis from EpiX's consultants.
This information is also available on a mirror of this course page on the EpiX Analytics website.
Unlike risk analysis training offered elsewhere, this course will walk the participants through the entire risk analysis process, from setting up a qualitative risk assessment, to performing a quantitative risk assessment, to effectively presenting the results to different audiences.
During the course, participants will learn to work with risk analysis modeling environments (in this case @RISK with Excel, but the lessons apply equally well to other modeling environments). Rather than just learning how to use software, the course focuses on how to conduct accurate and effective risk analyses, including best practices of risk modeling, selecting the appropriate distribution, using data and expert opinion, and avoiding common mistakes. The course will also cover essential probability and statistics theory and various stochastic processes to provide participants with a solid understanding of the foundations of quantitative risk analysis.
Please review the prerequisites section before attending the course. The requirements are very basic, but ensuring that all participants arrive with this basic level prevents us from spending extra time on familiarization with Excel rather than learning about risk analysis.
Training materials
All lecture notes are supplied as pdf files. A CD and printed handouts of these files are provided to each participant. The CD also contains all model files produced for the course. Any extra models developed during the course will be available for download from a private page dedicated to the course on EpiX Analytics’ website.
Course format
The course runs from 09:00 to 17:00 each day. Morning and afternoon coffee and lunch are provided. The course will be delivered in English. See Course content (below) to download the complete five-day program.
Who should attend
Professionals working in risk assessments in animal health, human health, food safety, or plant diseases, and risk managers and/or decision makers who have some basic knowledge of spreadsheets and simulation modeling. The course is also well suited for scientists providing input to risk assessments.
Prerequisites
Participants will be primarily using @RISK (version 5.0 or newer) with Microsoft Excel to solve the exercises. However, participants can also choose to use another Monte Carlo package of their choice (CrystalBall, etc). It is important that participants have basic working knowledge of Excel. However, no prior experience using @RISK or other simulation tools is required.
A Trial version of @Risk is available from Palisade's website - download @Risk.
As the trial license of @RISK lasts 15 days, participants should install it only a few days before the course. In addition to @RISK and MS Excel, participants are required to bring laptops with a pdf reader and with a functional CD drive.
Participants very proficient in the R statistical language can develop the exercises using this platform. The instructor will help them solve their problems, but the solutions to group problems will be shown in Excel and @RISK.
Free ModelAssist
ModelAssist is a comprehensive risk analysis training reference tool and is free of cost. This tool provides an in-depth explanation of all of the risk analysis concepts, techniques and methods introduced in this course and greatly complements the course material.
ModelAssist is available directly from EpiX Analytics - download ModelAssist.
Teaching philosophy
This course aims to help the participants understand risk analysis from the bottom-up, which is achieved through a relaxed, informal and interactive environment. During the week, participants will be guided through the implementation of a risk assessment, using examples in animal health and food safety. Other relevant example situations and risk models will be discussed and used for illustration. The course includes plenty of dynamic and interactive sessions, using examples and hands-on exercises so participants can apply and adapt what they have learned.
Instructors
- Prof. Dirk Pfeiffer (RVC)
- Dr Francisco Zagmutt (EpiX Analytics)
- Dr Barbara Wieland (RVC)
- Dr Solenne Costard (RVC)
- Prof Javier Guitian (RVC)
Course content
The program for the whole five-day course can be downloaded here - Course Program: Applied Risk Analysis in Epidemiology (PDF).
Registration
This course will be held at The Royal Veterinary College's Camden campus conveniently located in central London (UK). The course fee is £1,000.00. To register please download and submit your completed Registration Form (PDF).
Lodging and transportation
Course participants must arrange their own accommodation. Please download Lodging & Transportation (PDF) for a description of accommodation and transportation options for a variety of budgets.
For travel directions to both RVC campuses, please see Camden campus or Hawkshead campus.
The Royal Veterinary College
Established in 1791, the RVC is the UK’s longest-standing veterinary college—with a proud heritage of innovation in veterinary science, clinical practice and education.